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Sarah Silverman "JESUS IS MAGIC" by Tim Nasson, Wild About Movies publisher (9/16/05) Click to Watch an Exclusive Three Minute Clip of Jesus Is Magic
The feature-film version of JESUS IS MAGIC arrives in the wake of a successful sold-out stage run of the show in August 2002 at the Culture Project in Greenwich Village, followed by another sold-out run in Los Angeles that elicited raves from The Los Angeles Times, hailing Silverman’s work as “savagely effective (and) ruthlessly provocative as anything since the heyday of Lenny Bruce.” Marking the directorial debut from commercials and music video wunderkind Liam Lynch, JESUS IS MAGIC succeeds in breaking the mold of the traditional stand-up comedy concert film by incorporatingsurreal backstage antics and whimsically tasteless musical numbers (“I love you more than the white stuff in my zit/I love you more than my after-show bong hit!”) into Silverman’s established and decidedly politically incorrect comic routines that have earned her a steadily growing following on late-night and cable television since her appearance at age 19 as a writer and cast member of "Saturday Night Live." Everything and nothing is sacred or against the rules in Silverman’s sharp, frequently shocking but always astute comedic oeuvre, from her casual, self-deprecating barbs about ethnicity and sexuality (“I was raped by a doctor, which is a bittersweet experience for a Jewish girl,”), to hot-button racial jokes (“The best time to have a baby is when you’re a black teenager”) andright down the line to such taboo-shattering targets as AIDS (“When God gives you AIDS, make lemon AIDS!”) and the Holocaust("My grandmother was in one of the better camps"), subjects that most comedians wouldn’t dare address under the guise of comedy. Not even the events of September 11th, as reconsidered through Silverman’s beaming on-stage grin are immune to the performer’s limitless arsenal of topics. Indeed, this subject illuminates precisely what makes her such an unparalleled comedian. It’s her ability to take something tragic, controversial or politically incorrect and lend it a positive, even comedic spin, enhanced by a carefully modulated delivery that comes across as innocent, naive and almost childlike – even though Silverman is undeniably filthy! It also doesn’t hurt that Silverman is sexy and unafraid of her sexuality, making her something of an improbable pin-up among the Maxim magazine set. “Sarah is more woman than your girlfriend and more of a dude than your guy friends,” explains Liam Lynch, JESUS IS MAGIC’s director and musical co-conspirator. “She goes in and out of being a princess and a truck driver while flirtatiously pressing your every button and shocking you. She’s blatant about sex and race and mixes these topics with a self-centered charm that often forces people to relate to themselves in reaction to not relating to Sarah. She mixes the sweet with the bitter, making fun of racists, perverts, the materialistic, the two-faced and the self-centered – by acting like them all herself. Oddly enough, if any of these things bother you, then you’ll love Sarah’s work all the more.” Because Silverman is so candid and unsparing about her own ethnicity and sexuality, she manages to help her audience see laughter in what might ordinarily be presumed as off limits setting the stage for tackling even more controversial subjects like race and sexuality. By blending the personal with the political, and knowinghow to contextualize her comic land mines, Silverman succeeds in doing what very few contemporary comics since Lenny Bruce have been able to do for both themselves and their audience – laugh at anything and everything without guilt and the fear of repercussion. “People need to feel like they’re not being attacked,” Silverman admits. “Like they’re in a safe space where no punches are being pulled.” A veteran of the Manhattan comedy circuit following a brief stint at New York University, Silverman made ripples in the television comedy world through small but memorable roles on "Seinfeld" and "The Larry Sanders Show" before establishing herself as a recurring fixture on late-night television, where her talk-show sit-downs with Conan O’Brian, David Letterman, Jay Leno and Bill Maher became the stuff of water-cooler legend. She starred as a harried network executive forced to oversee a cast of obnoxious puppets and humans on a bargain-basement children’s television show in the Fox sitcom “Greg the Bunny,” followed by a memorable recurring role on the hit Comedy Central show “Crank Yankers,” in which comedians enact prank telephone calls to strangers. Silverman’s contribution was the unforgettably crass and highly demanding Hadassah Guberman, a Jewish American princess for whom nothing was sacred or off-limits in her efforts to find gainful employment and personal satisfaction. Most recently Silverman appeared in Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette’s hit ensemble documentary THE ARISTOCRATS, serving up her own scatological take on one of the oldest jokes in the business alongside some of the comedy world’s top names. Silverman also appeared in the big-screen comedy hit SCHOOL OF ROCK, opposite her friend and colleague Jack Black, in addition to the Farrelly Brothers’ comedy blockbuster THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. Her film work also includes roles in The Farrelly Brothers production SAY IT ISN’T SO, Christopher McQuarrie’s THE WAY OF THE GUN, Ivan Reitman’s EVOLUTION and Gary Sinyor’s THE BACHELOR. Lynch, a musical prodigy and pop impresario who also conceived, wrote, produced, scored and appeared in the surreal MTV hit program “The Sifl and Ollie Show,” – consistently ranked among the network’s top-ten shows during its three-year run – describes JESUS IS MAGIC as the work of two multi-hyphenates working together to create something that transcends traditional stand-up material, elevating the live comedy concert film to bold new heights of imagination. Lynch himself is no stranger to the world of music and music videos, having written original music since the age of 12 and helming clips for Tenacious D and the Foo Fighters, among other groups. As a rising musical prodigy in Liverpool, England, Lynch was one of 40 musicians chosen from around the world to study at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded by Sir Paul McCartney. He was among the Institute’s first graduating class, and one of five musician-students handpicked to work with McCartney on a one-on-one basis. Lynch was touring professionally by 18 and landed a recording deal in North America by the age of 21. Several years later he returned to the U.K. to work in a Liverpool recording studio with Sir George Martin, the famed Beatles producer. He worked with another Beatle, Sir Ringo Star, on his debut album “Fake Songs,” which included the radio hit “United States of Whatever,” for which Lynch also directed the music video. Lynch had never met Silverman prior to working on JESUS IS MAGIC, although he was familiar with her work on "Saturday Night Live" and "Mr. Show" and considered himself a huge fan. “When I heard she wanted me to do a concert film for her, I freaked out,” Lynch admits. “When I learned that she wanted to (include) musical stuff as well, I was in heaven -- her songs are so funny and I love her singing voice.” Lynch and Silverman worked for several months together prior to filming JESUS IS MAGIC, organizing material, setting up scenes and rehearsing the songs that would later be incorporated into the film, including the show stopping “You’re Gonna Die Soon,” set in a elderly care facility. “We also recorded a lot of music and goofed off in my home studio,” Lynch adds. “We have a great chemistry that made all work seem more like play. It was a lot like two little kids just dreaming up stuff.” JESUS IS MAGIC was filmed over seven days at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California, something that proved challenging to Lynch, who until this production was more accustomed to the quick pace and rapid editing that is typical in the commercials and music video world. For Lynch, a more measured pace meant that he could pay closer attention to emphasizing Silverman’s specific comic rhythm, which is both leisurely conversational and bluntly precise. It helped that Silverman was no stranger to music, in addition to her strengths as a writer and actress. “I wanted people to see how versatile and riveting she is as a performer, be it singing or telling jokes or acting,” Lynch says. “I also wanted the film to work on several different planes – to separate it from the typical stand-up comedy film. I wanted it to have layers, to dance in and out of so-called reality.” For Lynch, whose next feature film is the New Line Pictures production TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY, one of Silverman’s more potent features is her ability to elicit surprise in her audience, forcing them to rethink their own views on a particular subject through the act of disagreeing with her. “I think a lot of her humor is based on reverse psychology,” Lynch says. “She makes these incredibly brave and raw statements and they often make you react with an ‘Ugh, no!’ in your mind. This is how she gets her way. She becomes the opposite of the point she is trying to make. Suddenly you are laughing at her but you are reminded of your own views on things.” Lynch compares the comedian to none other than Bugs Bunny for ability to charm and burn her audience at the same time. “She’ll smile and flutter her eyelashes at you while she hands you a bouquet of flowers with a stick of TNT in it,” says Lynch. Following equally ecstatic reviews at the 2005 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas and the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., the feature-film version of JESUS IS MAGIC arrives in theaters on November 11 from the Los Angeles-based independent distributor Roadside Attractions, whose current and previous slate includes Marcos Siega’sPRETTY PERSUASION, Charles Dance’s LADIES IN LAVENDER, Eytan Fox’s WALK ON WATER, Jim De Sève’s TYING THE KNOT and Morgan Spurlock’s SUPER SIZE ME and William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente’sWHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW, both of which were among the top-grossing independent films released in 2004.
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An established name on the comedy circuit and a rising star in motion pictures and television, the incendiary and adorable comedic dynamo Sarah Silverman brings her mordantly funny and unflinchingly wise off-Broadway, one-woman show JESUS IS MAGIC to the big screen, introducing new fans to what Silverman’s already vast fan base has known all along – that she is among the most gifted and riotous names in comedy. 
